In case you've ever wondered how does a frozen carrot look like, here you have it

I still remember last year when I made my first roscón de reyes. It certanly was a time consuming work but I was quite happy with the result. At the end, I managed to get a bean in my slice of roscón, (aka king cake) which meant I would have had to make it next year again! So, here I am, with a new version of this cake, equally delicious and festive.

THREE KINGS CAKE - ROSCÓN DE REYES
(For more detailed instructions, please check my other recipe.)

For the cake dough:
400g flour, sifted
20g fresh yeast
100ml lukewarm milk
2 egg yolks
150ml cream (35%)
50ml rum
50ml butter, melted
a few drops of lemon essence
1 egg yolk and 1tsp cream for brushing

For the orange and cardamom infused pastry cream filling:
300ml whole milk
grated peel of 2 oranges
3 cardamom pods
3 egg yolks
40g flour
50g sugar

Decoration:
candied fruit (6 lemon slices)
grated coconut
chopped almonds

1 bean
1 figurine / trinket

1. Prepare the dough as instructed here.
2. Let it rise (this time I’ve let it no more than 1 hour), then shape into roscón, place it on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper, insert a round cup in the middle, and let it rise for another half an hour or so (covered, of course).
3. Preheat the oven to 200ºC. Brush your roscón with the mixture of egg yolk and cream and place the baking sheet in the oven (middle position). The top should brown quite  fast, so you will need to cover it with aluminum foil (at least I had to do so). Check if it’s baked by inserting a wooden skewer in the dough - if it comes out clean, the cake is done.
4. Let the cake cool on a rack, in the meantime you can prepare the pastry cream if you haven’t done it before.
5. Pastry cream: boil the milk together with orange peel and cardamom pods. Set aside, covered. Beat the yolks with sugar, then add the flour -little by little- while stirring, or better, whisking continuously. Now slowly pour the milk (filter the cardamoms and orange peel before that) into the egg mixture, still whisking continuously. You can choose either to heat the mixture directly on the stove or over double boiler (bain marie) - I chose the latter. Keep on whisking until the cream thickens, then set aside and cover (or keep in the fridge, in case you’re not using it right away).
6. Hide the bean and figurine inside the cake, cut through horizontally, then fill it with pastry cream. Cover the cake with upper part and decorate it.
7. Brush the cake with the leftover syrup from candied fruit procedure (this will give it a nice shine) and sprinkle it with almonds, coconut, then decorate it with candied lemon rings.
8. Let it rest during the night, if possible - we always fail at it, so we end up eating it the same day. Keep it covered in the fridge.

The cake came out moister than a year ago because I used the “trick” I learnt while making potica - both adding yolks instead of whole eggs, plus substituting a part of milk with 35% cream (I guess that’s what they call “whipping” cream”) lead to a significant difference in texture of the dough - that’s something worth keeping in mind (or in your cookbook)

Have a merry feast of Three kings, everyone!

The 1st of January 2009 brought us a bit of snow

So we survived yet another crazy New Year’s Eve bombardment (however, fireworks prevailed, since petards and similar have been -supposedly- banned in our country this year). We had a tasty dinner, a glass of sparkling lemon sorbet wine after listening to the last 12 chimes at midnight (we substituted grapes for 12 M&Ms - don’t ask) … and that was it. Nevertheless, we did suffer a little shock when opening our little sparkling wine bottle.

I kept the bottle to check it out this morning again - for the case I didn't see it well last night...

The bottle did not come with an old good cork like we’re used to it - it had a plastic stopper instead. We were looking at it and then at each other and we just couldn’t believe our eyes. There was no “boom” sound when opening, no foam running. My jaw almost fell on the floor. Now I wonder, has the economy crisis hit the wine industry that hard or have I bought fake, made-in-China wine (although the sticker does not indicate the possibility of the latter)? The wine had an awful taste as well, not much to do with a sparkling one, actually. No cork, wine cannot breathe, sulfur builds up inside, rotten egg smell ensures. As Spaniards would say, ¡qué desgracia!

Lemon sorbet

However, I wanted to share with you this simple recipe of the sparkling lemon sorbet wine I’ve been drinking for the past few New Year’s Eves: if you’re not a fan of sparkling wine like myself, that’s how to make it more palatable.

SPARKLING LEMON SORBET WINE

150ml water
4Tbsp sugar (I used blond cane sugar)
100ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
250ml good(!) sparkling wine

1. Pour the water in a pot, add sugar and heat until dissolved. Let cool.
2. Mix with lemon juice and pour in a small plastic container. Freeze.
3. A couple of hours before using, transfer the sorbet in the fridge.
4. Divide it between two glasses and cover with sparkling wine. Stir a bit and serve.

Cheers!

]]> http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2009/01/01/new-year/feed/ http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2008/12/31/the-potica-challenge/ http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2008/12/31/the-potica-challenge/#comments Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:57:03 +0000 Maya http://www.storiesfromemona.com/?p=396 Even though I said I wouldn’t make it for these holidays, I changed my mind merely two days ago. I don’t know if it was for the fact that our stock of polvorones and marzipan disappeared sooner than anticipated, or because I just couldn’t wait to give it a try and make my very first potica.

I had no idea potica (pronounced: po-teet-sah) was that popular beyond our borders! This nut-filled yeast bread pastry, apparently known all around our part of Europe -under different names, of course - is traditionally made on feasts like Easter, Christmas, sometimes even for birthdays and other similar celebrations. The most classical is the one with walnut filling, although nowadays you could find all sorts of “exotic” flavors inside this pastry (strawberry and peppermint potica, anybody?).

Here they sell fresh yeast in cubes of 42g.

In my family we were always baking it at home; I think I tasted a store bought potica once in my life only - it was exaggeratedly sweet and greasy - not my style. We would normally use walnuts and sometimes almonds or hazelnuts for the filling - that’s why I rather opted for something different, something I’ve never tried before: carob.

The main ingredient of my potica filling

Carob is a pod-shaped fruit of the carob tree, a leguminous (pulse family) evergreen tree, native to the Mediterranean.  Nowadays we use carob as a substitute for cocoa/chocolate (no, it does not taste the same), but that is not all: in some countries they make a refreshing drink out of crushed pods, while in others they use carob for compotes and liqueurs, and eat it as a snack. The seeds are used as animal feed, too. Not many people know that carob pods were an important source of sugar before sugarcane and sugar beets became widely available.

Mixing a grated apple into the carob filling

When I told my grandma about my potica attempt, she looked astonished. “I haven’t eaten carob potica since I was a child! You know, in those hard times (after the WW II) when people could not afford walnuts, they would use carob for making pastries. Yes, yes, “potica of the poor” we used to call it.”
I always like to listen to stories of my grandma. When she starts remembering the past, she can talk for hours. “It’s nice that you decided to use carob. But you see, carob filling can be pretty dry if you only cook it in milk. I advice you to enrich it with some butter or cream, this way your potica will taste great!”

And now the hardest part - the rolling of the dough.

With my grandma’s advices on my mind and with a lot of illusion I woke up into yesterday’s morning. I didn’t follow any particular recipe because even if I wanted to, I always end up improvising anyway. Here is my recipe:

Potica dough:
600g all-purpose flour
30g fresh yeast
4 tsp sugar
150ml milk
70g butter
100ml whipping cream (35%)
a pinch of salt
3 egg yolks
a splash or two of rum
1tsp ground cinnamon

Carob filling:
275g ground carob
100g sugar
75g honey (acacia, tilia…)
grated peel of one each non-treated orange and lemon
1-2tsp ground cinnamon
150ml whipping cream
500ml whole milk
50g butter
1 grated apple

an egg yolk for brushing
butter for greasing the mold
bread crumbs for sprinkling the mold

Ready to go inside the oven

1. In a bowl, sift the flour, make a “well” in the middle and place inside the crumbled fresh yeast (the crumblier the fresher), pour the heated milk (37ºC is believed to be the optimal temperature), in which you’ve previously dissolved the sugar, and sprinkle with some flour. Cover the bowl and let the yeast activate for about 15 minutes.

2. In a sauce pan, melt the butter on a low temperature, add the cream, cinnamon, rum and salt. Once it gets lukewarm, add it to the flour together with egg yolks and start kneading.

3. Once the dough becomes elastic, it’s time to start beating it: we use a very big wooden spoon to perform that and it’s quite a heavy job. Usually, two people are needed to beat the dough well. This helps introducing air in the dough and hence making it lighter.

4. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and let rise for about an hour. Then beat the dough again for a few minutes, cover and let rise for additional 30′ - 1h.

5. Make the filling: in a bigger sauce pan, boil the milk together with grated peel of one orange and lemon, honey, sugar and cinnamon. Lower the fire and add the ground carob. Stir for about 3 minutes and remove from fire. Stir in the butter and let cool.
Finally, mix in one peeled and grated apple and set aside.

6. Roll out the dough on a floured surface (0.5 - 0.3cm thick) and spread the carob filling all over it. Now the hardest part (at least for me): roll the dough carefully, as tightly as you can, then place it into your potica mold. Mine was a bit too small (22cm of diameter) for the dough, so I had to cut the edges a bit in order to fit it in the mold. But however, that’s what we always do: we bake those “edges” separately and eat them just like potica - we call them “štruklji”.

7. Potica should rest in the mold for half an hour more before heading into the oven (preheated to 200ºC). Don’t forget to pierce the dough with a wooden skewer and brush it with the egg yolk.

8. Baking depends on your oven entirely. My grandma starts baking it at high temperature (200ºC), then lowers it after 10minutes (180ºC) and after 20 minutes again (160ªC). I did it like that too but as my oven is just a simple portable electric oven, that heats pretty strong, I had to cover potica with aluminium paper already after 10 minutes of baking. The baking took 1 hour and I used a wooden skewer to check the dough.

9. Let potica sit after baking (10-15 minutes), then unmold. Do not cut it while still warm (I did it for the sake of photo but really I don’t recommend it). Once cool, you can decorate with it confectioner’s sugar.

Ta-daaa: my carob potica

Have a slice!

I made it!

I will have to practice the rolling part a bit - that’s where I had the most of trouble. Also, next time I will reduce the quantity of flour because 600g was too much for my mold. The grated apple contributed to the moisture very well and I warmly recommend it. It also makes a good substitute for raisins.

Finally, I’d like to wish you a very HAPPY NEW YEAR, all the best and SEE YOU IN 2009!!

Prosciutto wrapped mango slices

I believe there’s really no need to overload the table so much that you feel sick and tired of food even days after the festive meal. I don’t make caldereta often, no more than twice a year, I think. I seasoned the lamb chunks yesterday evening, using ground pepper, salvia, bay leaves, rosemary and lemon juice. I sautéed it today together with chopped onion, garlic cloves, celery stalk and a handful of cherry tomatoes, covered it with a splash of strong red wine and water. I salted the meat and let it simmer for 2 hours. Now it will be resting till dinnertime when I will heat it and add some sautéed carrots and celery root. I could add them in the morning already but I prefer my vegetables on the crunchy and not mushy side.

Lamb chunks, chopped onion, celery stalk and cherry tomatoes

The reason I prepared it partially in the morning already is the taste which improves a lot if the meat rests after cooking. It’s like with the stew and other slow-cooking dishes -  hurry is definitely not their friend.

Simmering caldereta

Sweet bites for afterdinner

I’d like to wish you all a very merry and peaceful Christmas… and in case you’re having too much snow, please send us some!

Ground almonds, sugar, lemon essence and cinnamon

In Spain, mazapán or marzipan is a confection of almond meal (ground almonds - peeled), sugar and egg whites (or only a bit of water instead of egg whites), all of this shaped into various forms. It’s a popular Christmas sweet in Portugal, Italy and Latin America, too. Wonderful, creative shapes can be made using marzipan, especially with the help of some food coloring - if you’ve ever seen frutta martorana, you know what I’m talking about.
However, I opted for a simple, basic mazapán recipe.

Ready to rest a bit

MAZAPÁN
(recipe adapted from gastronomiaycia.com)

250g ground peeled almonds
250g confectioner’s sugar
1 egg white
a bit of water
a few drops of lemon essence
a sprinkle of ground cinnamon
1 egg yolk for brushing

Bird-shaped mazapán

1. In a bowl, combine almonds with sugar, lemon essence and cinnamon. Stir well, then mix in the egg white. With the help of your hands start shaping the mixture into a ball, adding a only a few drops of water at a time - as much as needed in order to obtain the texture of marzipan.
2. Let rest a couple of hours (I covered it with a cling film, not sure if that’s needed).
3. After that, shape the marzipan according to your liking. I used this bird-shaped cutter that we both like very much.
4. Place the marzipan forms on a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper, brush them with the egg yolk and place in the oven (preheated to 200ªC) until golden brown (it takes a few minutes). Have in mind that they expand slightly in the oven.
5. Let cool.

Brushing with egg yolk

A sweet Christmas bite

In the end they seemed to give luck too, we didn’t get the big prize but we got some nice profit… enough to lessen the X-mas burden .

A year ago I posted about chocolate truffles I made for the first time. It was something new for me, given that here we don’t make chocolate things for Christmas. This is a land of potica but since I’m not such a big fan of it, I don’t think I will be making one this year either. (Although I’m planning on making it once in near future, to show you how it is made.)
Today I’ve been baking polvorones, orange-cinnamon and cocoa-rum scented ones. They came out very nice. However, I also made some truffles, but this time not the real ones - I found a promising recipe in a local newspaper, adapted it to my liking and I think they make a great alternative to the traditional, rather heavy chocolate truffles like we know them. Let’s call them “fake truffles”.

You need:

80g chocolate (I used 60% cocoa)
50g butter
100g ground almonds
150g ground plain (or digestive) cookies
100g finely chopped prunes
2tsp (or more if needed) freshly squeezed orange juice
grated peel of one non-treated orange
a splash of Cointreau (optional)
For rolling: cocoa powder/ground cinnamon/coconut

Melt the chocolate together with butter over bain marie. Let cool, then stir in the rest of ingredients. Cover and let rest in the fridge overnight, then shape the “truffles” and roll them in either cocoa powder, ground cinnamon or coconut. Place in the praline paper cups and keep in the fridge. They make a wonderful home made present!

To revive a bit those dear old winter holiday customs, I decided to decorate our home with some simple home made things. Some ideas occurred to me while taking a stroll in the nature back in November. Seeing trees with falling leaves, walnuts lying on the ground and evergreen shrubs, I believe it’s almost impossible not to get inspired. Add to this some citrus, the fruit of the season, a few tools and you have all you need. Check out the following photos to get more idea about what I’m up to these days.

Studding an orange with cloves, using a nail

Have you ever heard of pomanders? Not those, medieval ones, but rather the modern ones - fruits (usually oranges), studded with dried cloves and dried, which can last indefinitely, and then use it to freshen the air (they smell gorgeously) and placed in closets they would provide a nice smell to clothes as well as keep the moths away from them. In some countries they make this kind of pomanders for Christmas as a part of decoration. I’ve never made one before, so when I decided to try it in the beginning of November, I wasn’t quite sure how it would come out. Having in mind, the pomanders take a while to dry (talking bout weeks or even months here), I made only two and let them dry in the air, hanging on a door handle. First two weeks they were doing well, losing its volume progressively and becoming harder each day. But then suddenly, I noticed green-blueish spots spreading over both of pomanders. That certainly wasn’t a good sign and few days later I had to discard them. Unfortunately. I didn’t understand where did it go wrong, since I’d chosen perfectly healthy oranges. Doing a little research on Internet, I found a few advices on preserving the pomanders by rolling them in a mix of ground spices, so I gave the pomanders another try: I made another two, studding them with cloves much closer together - which they say will help them last longer.

Placing cloves close together on the fruit will make it last longer

The best preserve spice is supposed to be orris root. I couldn’t find it so I used a mix of ground cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger -they are OK, too - which I placed in a paper bag (one for each orange), added an orange and rolled well, so that the spices covered its surface entirely. I’m storing both paper bags in the cupboard and I roll the oranges every day (which I will continue to do until they have dried through). The cupboard and its surroundings smell like gingerbread cookies! So far the oranges are doing fine, but they won’t be dried up for Christmas. However, that’s OK - I learned a lesson and if everything goes well, I intend to make more pomanders next year.

Roll the orange in spice mix to cover its entire surface. Repeat this procedure every day. The orange on this photo isn't covered entirely yet - after a few days when its surface has dried up from clove studding, you won't see the orange color anymore.

There are even more ways of using citruses as decoration. You dry the sliced up oranges and lemons in oven at about 100ºC - 130ºC - depending on the oven (it takes a few hours). Store them in an airy place until using.

Orange and lemon slices, ready to dry in the oven

Dried up orange (left) and lemon slice

Dried citrus slices, wooden skewer and some golden thread - you need no more to create a genuine Christmas decoration at home.

You can hang them on the tree - they make a wonderful contrast with the green of the tree! I haven’t set my Christmas tree yet (I usually don’t do it before 22nd or 23rd of December), so I picked some branches of Boxwood, also called Common Box, which is easily found just about everywhere here.

Boxwood branches, placed in a vase, decorated with dried orange slices

Of course, you can use other evergreen plant for this purpose, if you can’t find this one. And when you’re making a walk in the (coniferous) woods, don’t forget to look for cones - these have always been present in our home for Christmas! Here I painted them golden and I will use them for my table decoration. We also use them to hang on the tree but these are a bit too big for that, I think.

Painting golden some dried spruce cones

There’s are a couple more things you can collect when in the woods: walnuts, bare branches and fallen leaves (preferably smaller) of different shapes. Painted golden (or silver, if you prefer), you can hang them on a thread and stick them on the wall.

I chose golden color but you could use also silver one. Here I'm holding an ivy leaf. Before painting the leaves, you have to dry them well. This is best done by placing the leaves between two sheets of paper which you put in a thick book, and then lade it with something heavy. It takes a couple of weeks or more - depending on the size and type of the leaf.

I hung the golden leaves on the wall. Another option would be to hang them from the window.

The walnuts and branches are waiting to be used for another arranged decoration.

Isn’t it amazing, how many things someone can do himself at home? With a bit of will and imagination, and with the help of natural gifts that you can find anywhere, you can surely make yourself a merrier Christmas!

I cannot believe it's not Jaffa biscuits!

Biscuit base:
4 eggs
75g sugar
a pinch of salt
50ml Cointreau
50ml milk
50ml olive oil (you can substitute it with melted butter)
170g flour
8g baking powder

Orange jelly layer:
juice of approximately 3 oranges and 1 lemon (approximately 250ml))
grated peel of 1 orange and 1 lemon
4 Tbsp orange jam
75g sugar
5 gelatine sheets (8g)

Chocolate coating:
300g chocolate, melted over bain-marie (I used 200g of 40% cocoa and 100g of 70% cocoa)

1. Beat the eggs with salt, sugar, Cointreau, milk and olive oil, then add the flour, sifted together with baking powder.
2. Pour the batter in the baking pan (34×20 or bigger if you want a thiner biscuit base), lined with parchment paper and bake in preheated oven (160-180ºC, depending on your oven) until golden brown. Let cool on a wire rack.
3. Prepare the orange jelly: soak the gelatin sheets in some water for 5 minutes, then squeeze the excess of water (gently!) out of them and place in a pot together with orange-lemon juice, grated peel and sugar. Heat on low temperature until the gelatin dissolves. Add the orange jam and let cool.
4. Spread the jelly over the cooled biscuit base, then cover with melted chocolate. Place the cake in the fridge for overnight at least. Cut in squares or other desired shape. It tastes best on the 2nd/3rd day. Keep in the fridge.

A perfect December treat

]]> http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2008/12/09/jaffa-cake/feed/ http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2008/12/06/miklavz-st-nicholas-day/ http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2008/12/06/miklavz-st-nicholas-day/#comments Sat, 06 Dec 2008 18:13:26 +0000 Maya http://www.storiesfromemona.com/?p=385 Ever since I was small, I’d eagerly get up early in the morning on 6th of December and rush to the kitchen to see if St. Nicholas had left anything for me on the kitchen table. I can still remember the joy I felt by seeing a basket full of oranges or mandarinas, candies, chocolate, gingerbread cookies - and St. Nicholas bread which if fact wasn’t about St. Nicholas but rather his scary “companion”, parkelj* as we call him: the children here believe St. Nicholas goes around houses with parkelj and a couple of angels and brings presents to good children, while parkelj is there to punish the wicked ones. Don’t ask me what the punishment was like - I’ve always been a good girl!

*in my dictionary it translates literally as “hoof” or “claw” - go figure. However, apparently the expression “parkelj” comes from the German word “Spitzbartl” which translates as “goatee”. Parkelj is described as a devil, furry creature with horns and a very scary look.

The funny thing is, we tend to bake parkelj - shaped bread more than St. Nicholas one, even if it’s given as a present to the good children. I don’t really know why! So when I was kneading the bread dough yesterday, I decided to shape both - Nicholas and parkelj - in the end, they both taste good!

The dough I made is similar to the one I use for making bread, replacing water with milk and adding a few aromas, brushing it with egg yolk and sprinkling with sugar before placing it into the oven. This “bread” is eaten for breakfast and since I made two big creatures, we will have some tomorrow morning, too.

St. Nicholas bread
(makes two pieces)

500g of flour
20g fresh yeast
a pinch of salt
cca. 250ml lukewarm milk
1 Tbsp honey (acacia, lime tree…)
2 Tbsp sugar (I used blond cane sugar) + 1 Tbsp for sprinkling
1 egg yolk, mixed with 1 tsp milk
grated peel of a lemon
1 tsp of ground cinnamon
2 Tbsp of orange blossom water (optional)
1 Tbsp rum
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or melted butter
a few raisins or a prune, cut in small pieces (I used the latter)

1. Prepare the yeast mixture by placing yeast in a small pot, covering it with sugar, honey and little milk. Let rise for about 1/2h.
2. Place the flour in a big kneading bowl, add salt, honey, lemon peel, cinnamon, orange blossom water if using, rum, olive oil or butter and at the end, the yeast mixture. Stir the flour using a wooden spoon, then knead until obtaining a soft, elastic dough.
3. Let it rest in a covered bowl away from draught, for about 1 hour.
4. Dividing the dough in 2 parts and using a lot of imagination, shape one good-looking St. Nicholas and his companion. Mine were both about 35cms tall. I was having a great time laughing at my creation, so I warmly recommend to those of you who have children, to get them involved into this work. It’s very fun! Use the raisins/prune for the eyes, buttons and the cross on St. Nicholas’s hat.
5. Brush your creations with some egg yolk, then sprinkle with sugar and bake in preheated oven (200ºC) until nicely browned. In my oven it didn’t take more than 15 minutes.
6. Serve for breakfast. I either dip it in some warm milk/cocoa or eat it with butter.

I stuck a paper "tongue" to parkelj in order to make it a bit scarier :)

]]> http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2008/12/06/miklavz-st-nicholas-day/feed/ http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2008/12/05/polvoron-spanish-christmas-shortbread-cookie/ http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2008/12/05/polvoron-spanish-christmas-shortbread-cookie/#comments Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:37:34 +0000 Maya http://www.storiesfromemona.com/?p=384

“Try to say Pamplona while eating it”, said Juanpi once to me when I made a bite into a round and thick cookie that came wrapped in a silky paper. No matter how much I tried, I could not do it.  If you’ve ever eaten a polvorón, you know for sure what I’m talking about. This crumbly little Christmas shortbread feels so dry in your mouth that you better keep it shut while chewing. Yet polvorón is something that must not be missing in Spanish homes for December feasts. I liked the taste despite feeling full after eating one single of them!
I can not buy polvorones here, and shipping them from Spain would be a kind of no-go, but I wanted to see  how Juanpi would react, so I decided to give it a try: the result was a batch of beautiful, crumbly and aromatic treats - and a big smile on Juanpi’s face!

There are so many different recipes on the Internet that they got me confused from the start: there were versions with eggs and those without, the quantity of flour versus other ingredients also seemed doubtful in many of a case so I just had to rely on my own judgment. I went for the “safer” option with the egg, since it’s known to me the egg helps hold the dough together.

POLVORONES
(yield: 20 cookies)

500g flour
250g butter or pork fat which is traditionally used for polvorones
1 egg
a pinch of salt
125g home-prepared vanilla confectioner’s sugar*
125g ground almonds
juice and grated skin of 1 organically grown lemon
1tsp ground cinnamon

* Split one vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds, then mix them with sugar and grind in coffee grinder.

1. Toast the flour in the preheated oven (130 - 150 degrees, depending on the oven) for about 15′. Stir every now and then and remove as soon as the flour starts changing color. Let cool.
2. Transfer the flour to a bowl, make a well in the middle and add sliced butter, the egg, ground almonds, salt, sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice and grated skin. With a help of a wooden spoon, mix the ingredients, then knead using your hands until forming a smooth, elastic dough. Wrap in a cling film and let rest in the fridge for an hour.
3. The dough is incredibly crumbly. The rolling pin couldn’t do its work, so I used my hands (palms) to shape small quantities of dough 1cm thick and cut the cookies, using a round cookie cutter (or in my case, a glass). I also used a heart-shaped cutter, just for fun. Now place the cookies onto a baking sheet, lined with parchment paper and bake at 180-200 degrees (again, depending on the oven) for 10-15′. Let cool.
4. Roll the cooled polvorones in confectioner’s sugar and store in air tight container.
Or like they do it in Spain, wrap them in a special silky paper, if you have the chance to find it.

They break easily at this point, so better let them cool completely.

The crunchiness is provided by almonds: I didn’t peel them before grinding because I prefer them like this.

Autumnal delight

During the past year I’ve become quite a pro for jams and marmalade but I’ve never made jellies. Normally I’d use far less sugar when cooking a jam because I’m not that much of a sweet tooth. So, when I made quince jelly for the first time, it didn’t come out exactly how it should (which is hard enough to be able to cut it into cubes). What I got was more like a thick jam, although the taste was very good. However, I didn’t find peace until getting my hands on quinces for the 2nd time again - this time I was happy with the result.

So, what do you have to consider when making a quince jelly? Here’s what I learnt through the process:

- you can either cook whole quinces, with the skin on, and peel them afterwards, or you can peel them right at the beginning and slice them (I tried both).
- quinces oxydize within no time, before you even notice it. Therefore, as soon as you peel one, place it in water to which you added some lemon juice. Same goes for the quinces cooked with skin on - squeeze some lemon juice in the cold water, then place the washed quinces inside.

- purée the cooked, peeled and sliced quinces, using a blender. Then you are ready to proceed and make the jelly.
- use at least 50% sugar in relation to quinces. Like I said, I didn’t do so the first time and ended up with jam (which is one very tasty jam, by the way).

- use 1 lemon per 1 (big) quince
- using blond cane sugar works just great
- cook the jelly in a big pan, covered with a lid (!). Namely, the jelly tends to splash terribly all around while cooking, therefore you should consider wearing an apron and use a lot of care when stirring/checking the jelly.

- for checking the consistency of the jelly, place a teaspoon of it on a plate and let cool in the freezer (it will take a few minutes). If it’s solid enough, your jelly is ready.
- store the jelly in the fridge and let it sit at least during the night. If you want it to have the rectangular form, spread it on an appropriate sized dish, cover with some cling film and place something heavy on it (e.g. an other dish etc.)
- serve it with queso de Burgos (a type of fresh cheese, made either of sheep or cow milk, that is made in the Spanish province of Burgos) or requeson - fresh, good quality ricotta works great as a substitute.

Quince at its best - makes a great dessert, snack or breakfast

My hopes were high yesterday evening

This morning we woke up in a winter fairytale. It takes a while for the eyes to get accustomed to the whiteness outside but hey, it feels so good! I only wish Slovenes wouldn’t be *that* obsessed with shoveling away the snow… I know people who get up at night if it snows, and go outside with their shovels to remove every new inch of snow layer! That’s pretty ill-minded, folks.

Me wants more!

Feather friends visiting

Careful with those prickles…

Chayote / chocho (ha, ha) / chow-chow / christophine or sechium edule, if you prefer, is a member of Cucurbitaceae family (along with cucumbers, squash and melons). Its home is Central America, Costa Rica being the major exporter of chayotes worldwide. After a little research on the Internet, I found out chayote is one very useful plant: ALL its parts (roots, leaves, young sprouts and fruits, together with their seeds) are edible. The meat and seed of chayote are rich in amino acids and vitamin C, its root contains starch and the leaves as well as the fruits are known to have a diuretic and anti-inflammatory properties. Apparently, in chayote’s homeland people make infusion from its leaves to help combat the atherosclerosis, high blood pressure and kidney stones.
Sounds like one super power plant, doesn’t it??

The seed is edible but this one tasted somehow too bitter for me…

Most of the recipes I found were using chayote in soups or stews. I didn’t hesitate to prepare one myself, too. I used whatever I’d found in the fridge and the result was one seriously tasty soup I liked so much that I prepared it twice in the same week. And here is the recipe!

CHAYOTE SOUP WITH CAULIFLOWER AND CHORIZO

about 1l freshly cooked vegetable broth*
1 chayote
1 carrot
1 very small cauliflower
1 onion
2 potatoes
chorizo
unrefined sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
a pinch of smoked sweet paprika
freshly grated nutmeg
150ml oat cream for cooking (as a non-dairy alternative - I love it! Of course you can substitute it with the normal one.)

* Vegetable broth:
1l water
1 carrot
a piece of kohlrabi
a piece of celery root
1 small parsnip
3 sprigs of fresh parsley
2 bay leaves
a pinch of saffron or safflower threads
unrefined sea salt
1tsp of peppercorns

1. Prepare the vegetable broth by cleaning, peeling and slicing the vegetables, place them in a big pot, add the spices and cover with water. Bring to boil. Then add some salt and let the broth simmer for about half an hour. Remove from fire, spoon out the vegetables and filter the broth.

2. Mix the vegetables until smooth “paste”, using a blender or a food mill. Stir it in the filtered broth and place on the stove again. Now add the cleaned, peeled and chopped carrot, chayote, potato, chorizo, onion, add the spices and let simmer. Towards the end of cooking add the florets of cauliflower and check again for salt. Pour in the cream and stir a bit.

3. By letting the ingredients simmer gently, the soup will take on a richer aroma, allowing the tastes blend well. After about an hour our soup is cooked. Let it rest for 15 to 20 minutes more, then serve sprinkled with some sweet paprika and with some freshly baked bread on a side.

Calendula officinalis, Pot Marigold (English Marigold) or simply Marigold is a plant that has been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times. Besides that, this plant works great as a dye, used in cuisine (as a substitute for saffron) as well as a dye for fabrics and cosmetics. But its primary reputation is the medicinal one and it would be quite difficult to find a better skin healer: calendula is the right plant for healing wounds, ulcers, severe burns, bruises and other local skin problems.
This potent antiseptic can be made into a cream and applied on skin, or drunk as an infusion, using dried flower petals.

Some flowers get orange…

… while others get yellow

Calendula is one of the safest herbs to use, so most people don’t have problems dealing with it. Caution should be applied only in case that a person suffers an allergic reaction to pollen of any plant belonging to the daisy family of plants, although the occasions of individuals developing these reactions are quite rare.

Marigold should be picked in the morning, just after the flowers have opened.

I’ve known this flower for years, it has always been growing in our garden but I’ve never been aware of its characteristics till now. After reading a few herbal oriented books, my interest for this beautiful yellow flower increased, so that this spring I bought a pack of seeds and planted them in the garden, along the edge of the garden bed - namely, calendula is known also for being a good “neighbour” to the growing vegetables because it protects them from pests (not to mention that it attracts bees and other useful insects!).

Here we go… start by chopping the plant coarsely.

My intention was to make a cream from scratch - without any of those artificial ingredients like petrolatum, paraffinum liquidum, lanolin or hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde, commonly found in creams of this sort. Being prone to dry skin problems, especially dry hands during winter time, I’ve always been a huge consumer of hand creams and often my choice of cream would be among the ones with calendula extract. However, I was curious to know if I could make a cream myself at home and with the hundreds of flowers that my plants produced over the summer, I really had to try it out!

Now let’s prepare the pan and melt the butter…

Every week I would pick a basket of petals and temporarily, my kitchen would become similar to a little lab. There were flowers everywhere - because I also decided to dry them for the infusion - and the aroma of butter-fried flowers filled our kitchen on weekly basis -to Juanpi’s dismay-.

… and let’s do some frying! It will only take a moment or two.

You’ll need some muscle power here. Try to squeeze out as much liquid as you can…

Why butter?
Well, the recipe* I found called for either pork fat or butter, I opted for the latter because I kind of preferred its smell. The instructions were, however, simple:

“Heat 500g of butter in a pan, take 2 handfuls of freshly picked and chopped marigold (petals, stems, leaves) and fry them swiftly, stir and remove from the stove. Let sit in a covered pan overnight or better, for 24hrs. Stir occasionally. Then, slightly heat up the mixture and using a fine cotton/linen cloth, filter the mixture into a prepared clean pot.”

* This recipe originates from the book of Maria Treben, Austrian herbalist.

Precious, golden elixir

After a few hours the cream solidifies, but in any case I suggest keeping it in the fridge. We don’t put any preservatives in there, remember?

The cream keeps well for quite a while. I’m not sure for how long because I’ve never managed to find this information. I’m now using the pot, prepared in mid-August and it smells and looks same as the first day. The cream makes my skin absolutely smooth and relieved. I think I’ve found my perfect cream!

The petals I didn’t use for cream making, were put to dry. Marigold makes a great blood purifying infusion. It tastes nice, too, not at all bitter like some other plants do.

Ready to dry

The petals lose much of their volume during the drying process

Since it’s an annual plant, I’m looking forward to plant its seeds again next spring. I can’t wait! It was so nice to observe it growing and blossoming, it’s an incredible plant. The garden has never been that vibrant - thanks to marigold.

]]> http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2008/11/17/calendula-officinalis/feed/ http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2008/11/10/citrus-hot-drink-with-apple-and-ginger/ http://www.storiesfromemona.com/2008/11/10/citrus-hot-drink-with-apple-and-ginger/#comments Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:55:39 +0000 Maya http://www.storiesfromemona.com/?p=353

We’ve been having another (too) warm autumn here, in Slovenia. Unusual high temperatures (in some places the thermometer reached even 22 degrees Celsius last week) feel anything but pleasant to me these days… I mean, I love the sun and blue sky and everything. I couldn’t live without it. Just that, somehow it doesn’t seem right for this time of the year.

Images from last week’s walk

We used to have snow around this time many times, or morning frost at least. No sign from it for now. Today it was the first day that I could say it felt colder. Finally!
It made me crave something citrusy, so I made myself a hot drink from orange, lemon, apple and ginger. I could as well call it citrus tea but… since no real tea leaves present, I guess I will just stick to the “hot drink” term. If you know of a more appropriate expression, please let me know.

CITRUS HOT DRINK
with apple and fresh ginger

Ingredients:
half an organically grown orange
half an organically grown lemon
1 organically grown apple
a 3cm piece of fresh ginger
350ml water
1-2 teaspons blond cane sugar (or honey)

Instructions:
Wash the orange, lemon and apple well and pat dry. Slice, peel the apple (or you can leave it with the peel on) and ginger and place in a pot/teapot. Add water and bring to boil. Let simmer for about 15 minutes, then remove from the stove. Let sit for a couple of minutes, then filter, add sugar and enjoy.

Comment:
I could add cinnamon, cloves and cardamom, too, but this time I just wanted the citrusy taste to prevail. Ginger added just enough spicy note. I’m usually heavy on spices, so once for a change it felt fine to enjoy the drink as it was. Of course, I ate the apple, too. It would be a shame if I didn’t!

Perfect cup for a cold day